The Cadet
by AlisonWonderland51
Summary: The story of how Commander Peepers joined the Watchdog army. Taking him through the hardships, friendship, struggles, and the years of his life it took to get to where he is now.
1. The Recruitment

Chapter 1

The Recruitment

He was finally free. It was 3am, his bag was packed, his incredibly vague note was left on his bed to his parents and sister, and his Watchdog application with the "APPROVED" stamp on it was safely tucked away in his pocket. With the close of his family home's front door, Peepers was finally out of there for good.

He had a long way to walk, but he knew where he was headed. To Lord Hater's ship. Peepers couldn't believe that he was actually and finally going to join _the _Watchdog army and meet _the _Lord Hater. He knew the army wasn't going to be easy, but it had to be better than how his stupid family had been treating him. Peepers couldn't wait to join the ranks of the Watchdogs soldiers, and feel that incredible satisfaction of helping conquer that first planet. It was what he'd be dreaming of for a long, long time.

Peepers was getting exhausted, this was a longer walk than he had anticipated. He was out of breath, and he was just dragging his bag on the ground at this point. But then, when he looked up, he finally saw what he had walked so far to see: Lord Hater's ship! His eye lit up, and he could feel a wave of energy rushing through him, just from a glance at that beautiful craft. Peepers lifted up his bag, and made a run for the ship. As he got closer, he could see a large group of other new recruits. Thankfully, they hadn't started anything without him.

Peepers finally got up to the ship, and to the group of wannabe Watchdogs. He looked up at the ship, and just took it all in. He couldn't believe that he was finally here! His concentration of the ship, however, was soon broken by the shouting of a Watchdog soldier.

"Alright! Everyone line up!" the Watchdog ordered. "Single file!" Quickly, the group of recruits scrambled to line up as demanded. Peepers didn't know where to go, so he backed away until all the new soldiers were lined up, where he joined at the very end.

He tilted his head to look over at the other end of the line. On the other side, there was a Watchdog soldier, he was in full uniform, and appeared to have some kind of patch on his sleeve. He must of been of some importance. The soldier began walking down the line, with hands behind his back. "So, you're all the new recruits?" the soldier asked. "Well, you don't look as _pitiful _as our last bunch, so you have that going for you." The soldier stopped and turned to face the line. "I'm Sergeant Major Cornelius. Lord Hater's second-in-command around here. I will be training you in your time in boot camp. You will follow every single order you are given, understand?" The new recruits all nodded. Sgt. Cornelius just sighed. "Idiots!" he shouted. "When I ask you a question or give you an order, you say 'Sir, yes, sir!' I thought you'd all at least know _that much_."

"Sir, yes, sir!" the recruits said in nearly perfect unison.

"Good! Good…" Sgt. Cornelius commented them as he continued walking beside them. "Remember this, soldiers! You're here because Lord Hater wants the best! And you're it! Or at least you _better_ be. Understand?"

"_Sir, yes, sir!"_

"Fast learners! I like that. There may be hope for you yet." When the sergeant major came to the end of the line, he was a bit more than surprised to see puny little Peepers there. He had to have been at least eight inches shorter–and at least ten times weaker–than the others. "You! Kid!" Sgt. Cornelius said to Peepers.

Peepers stood up straight. "Uh, uh… Yes, sir?" He saluted the sergeant.

"You a new recruit?" the Watchdog asked.

"Yes, sir!" Peepers replied.

Cornelius scanned Peepers. He stood silent, staring at the tiny new cadet. He then asked, "Aren't you a little short to be Watchdog?"

Peepers could hear some of the others snickering at the sergeant's question. He tried his best to ignore it. "I, uh…" Peepers stammered.

"Speak up, cadet!" Cornelius shouted.

"Yes, sir!" Peepers saluted again. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm just a little short for my age, that's all."

"You have to be 17 to join the Watchdogs, I'll have you know," Cornelius informed him. "And just judging by your voice, it would seem that you're still going through puberty."

Peepers narrowed his eye at the sergeant, but knew it would be disrespectful to respond the way he was so tempted to, especially after hearing the others laugh at him even more. "Sir, with all due respect, I _am _the proper age for the Watchdogs. See! Here's my approved application and everything!" Peepers reached into his pocket and pulled out his crumpled up application, handing it to the sergeant.

Sergeant Major Cornelius looked over it. Indeed, it did say Peepers was the right age, so he couldn't fault him for that. "...So," he said with a smirk. "Your name is _Peepers, _huh?"

"Uh, that's right, sir," Peepers answered, a touch embarrassed by his _adorable _little name.

"Well," said the sergeant, folding up Peepers' application. "Aren't you just the _cutest _thing?" Peepers just scowled, disconcerted by the sergeant's condescending words, as the others were just laughing it up even moreso. The sergeant was laughing with them, up until he abruptly screamed, "_SHUT UP!_" at the recruits. Instantly, they fell silent. Cornelius turned back to Peepers. "I don't expect much of you, cadet, but I suppose you can stay. I'm sure you'll come in handy someday." Sergeant Cornelius shoved Peepers application into his pocket, and started walking back the other way. "Alright! Everyone give me your application, then we'll go get you some uniforms."

Peepers' eye was welling up with the tears that he was trying so desperately to hold back. It was only his first hour of being in the Watchdogs, and his commanding officer had publicly humiliated him. Worst of all, he was so short, that he was easily distinguishable from everyone else, so he knew that everyone here would remember it. Obviously, he couldn't back out, it was the army. He'd be arrested for going AWOL. Though even if he could, he wouldn't want to. Because in the midst of his his embarrassment and despair, there came this insatiable urge to prove to anyone who would dare underestimated him that they were completely _wrong._


	2. The Leader

Chapter 2

The Leader

"Alright!" Sgt. Cornelius yelled to his troops. "Find a uniform in your size, then grab your helmet. Do it quickly! We have a lot to get through before you all start your training!" The recruits all went into a storage room on the ship where the floor was strewed with cardboard boxes containing uniforms, gloves, and boots of various sizes. Some of the recruits went to the boxes labeled L, and some went to XL. Peepers rummaged through every single box, though even the one labeled S seemed just a bit big for Peepers. Finally, he found a box in the corner labeled "XS" that had just one little uniform inside. Luckily, this one looked like it would fit him perfectly. Even more lucky, he found a pair of gloves that fit just right. The boots, not so much, they were two sizes too big, but they would have to do. He could at least walk in them fine.

"Everyone got their uniforms?" asked Cornelius. "The crate in the corner there contains your helmets. Don't worry about sizing, one size fits all." All the recruits grabbed a helmet and plopped it on their heads. Peepers was the last one to get to the crate. He took the very last helmet left in the box. "Alright, everyone go get changed!" Cornelius ordered. "The locker rooms are down the hall to the left, you can change in there. Report back to me when you're done for something important."

Peepers quickly scurried off to the locker room. He picked the farthest corner of the room to get changed in. Finally, with this full uniform, he would feel like a real soldier. He got on his shirt, his pants, his gloves, and boots. Then came time to get that helmet on. Most of the others put theirs on as soon as they got it, but Peepers wanted to make this moment special. He took the helmet he had picked out and carefully placed atop his head. He was now finally in full uniform and finally felt like a real soldier! There was just _one_ little problem… He couldn't see a thing.

"Oh. _Sure_, sarge," Peepers said in a deadpan sarcastic tone to himself. That helmet of his covered nearly half his face. "'One size fits all'. Couldn't be more accurate!" He pushed further back, so he could at least see, but it was still terribly loose.

Peepers scampered back to where they were meeting up. He was glad to be first one out of the locker room, as he didn't want to be publicly ridiculed for this helmet issue either. "Excuse me, sir," Peepers said to Sgt. Cornelis.

"Yes, what is it, cadet?" Cornelius sighed. Just seeing the pint-sized trainee in that big ol' helmet, he knew what was going to be asked of him.

"You wouldn't happen to have any smaller helmets, would you?" Peepers asked.

"No, cadet, we do not," Cornelius replied without even having to think about it. "We never thought we'd get a soldier the size of the 10-year-old, so we never bothered ordering smaller helmets. Maybe we'll get you a custom one in the future, if you last. Just make due for now, okay?"

Peepers sighed. "Sir, yes, sir…" he said as he half-heartedly saluted.

The rest of the recruits finally emerged from the locker room in their full uniforms. They were now nearly indistinguishable from each other (except, of course, for Peepers). "Everyone here?" Sgt. Cornelius asked.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Good! Let's go." Sgt. Cornelius turned and motioned for the recruits to follow him. They walked down the long hallway, until they were led into an _enormous _room with a stage up at the front of it. They were told to stand up near the end of the room. Cornelius ran ahead of them and climbed atop the stage. When all the new cadets were close enough, he began, "Now, before we officially begin our training, there is one _extremely_ important person you all should meet." This made a few of the recruits very excited, especially little Peepers. "Introducing, the greatest guy in the galaxy, the reason you're all here, **_Lord Hater!_**"

With what looked to be a flash of green lightning, the skeletal warlord known as Lord Hater appeared on the stage. "Greetings, Watchdogs!" he said with a viciously happy tone. Though, upon seeing the group, this happiness turned to disappointed confusion. "Wow, for some reason, I was thought there'd be a lot more of you."

"Sorry, sir," Sgt. Cornelius said to Lord Hater. "Only twenty-three of the hundred approved applicants showed up."

"_Don't you think I can see that?!_" Lord Hater screamed at his second-in-command. "No matter!" he digressed. "You're still Watchdog soldiers, and you can still work for my cause, no matter how many of you there are. But let me ask you this! Does anyone actually know _why _they're here?"

"Because we dropped out of college and couldn't get a better job?" asked one of the recruits.

Lord Hater gave sour look to the recruit as his hands began radiating a lime green light. He came closer to the edge of the platform. Some of the recruits backed away, a touch intimidated by their leader. Others didn't even move, there were paralyzed with fear. Peepers, however, was just overcome with joy getting to be this close to his idol. He raised his hand up, "I know! I know, sir!" he ecstatically shouted. Lord Hater peered at the little cadet, distracting him from zapping that smart-mouth recruit.

"So tell me," Hater said.

"To serve the Hater Empire, helping us rule the entire universe by spreading _fear _and _hate _throughout it!" Peepers proclaimed, proudly.

Lord Hater smirked. The light from his hands dimmed as well. "I see you're a fan of mine."

"Hate's great! Best villain!" Peepers said with a smile.

Hater chuckled at the little cadet's enthusiasm. "I like you! You're acting like you actually _want _to be here. Unlike the _rest _of you… What is your name, cadet?"

Peepers practically squealed in delight. Did Lord Hater really just approve of tiny little him? "My name is Peepers, sir!" He saluted to Lord Hater.

Lord Hater chortled. "Peepers, huh? Get up here, Peepers!" Lord Hater grabbed Peepers' hand and pulled him upwards. "See this guy?" Hater asked the recruits. "You should _all _be taking Cadet Peepers here as an example of how excited you all _should be _about conquering planets for _me_." He turned to Peepers, who was still dangling from Hater's hand. "You are excited, aren't you, Peepers?"

"Yes, sir!" Peepers replied.

"As you should be!" Hater dropped Peepers down on the stage. "I want you _all _to have Cadet Peepers' level of enthusiasm by the time Sgt. Major Cornelius is through with your training! _Understand?_"

The recruits, about half of them rolling their eyes, all saluted Lord Hater. "...Suck up," one recruit whispered.

"_I HEARD THAT!_" Lord Hater screeched as he violently zapped the recruit with the green lightning from his hands. All the other recruits quickly backed away.

"Uh, sir," Sgt. Cornelius spoke up to Lord Hater.

"_What?!_" Lord Hater screamed.

"S-Sorry, sir!" Cornelius was looking rather nervous talking to Hater. "I-I'd just appreciate it if you didn't start electrocuting my troops before we even begin boot camp." Peepers found it quite odd that the sergeant who had been yelling at them and ordering them around earlier was now basically on his knees while talking to Hater.

"_Cornelius!_" Lord Hater's hands were beginning to glow green again. "Are _you _telling _me _what to do?!"

"O-Of course not, sir!" Cornelius stammered, petrified.

"Excellent…" The green light emanating from Hater's hands faded. He turned back to the recruits. "You all do everything Sgt. Major Cornelius tells you to do. And maybe the next time I see you, you all won't be so _pitiful_. Except Peepers, he's not pitiful, he's what you should all _strive _to be!" Peepers was trying his hardest to contain his joy, but it was quite clearly bleeding through. He gave the other cadets a smug look. There was much eye rolling among them. "_Understand?"_

"Sir, yes, sir!" the recruits all said at once as they saluted their leader.

"Perfect!" Lord Hater said. "_Now get moving!_"


	3. The Training

Chapter 3

The Training

Finally, boot camp had begun for the soldiers in training. They had landed on a mostly deserted planetoid. It was a perfect training ground– breathable air, firm ground, and lots of space. To test their stamina, Sgt. Major Cornelius was having the new recruits run laps around a makeshift track. A few other soldiers had come outside to just observe the new recruits, or help out with the training process.

Poor little Peepers though. As excited as he was to begin training, with his short little legs, he was having a difficult time keeping up with the others. He was scurrying as quickly as he could, but even then, the other cadets were passing him with no effort. Some already on their second lap. When three others ran passed him, one of them rammed right into Peepers, knocking the little guy over face-first onto the ground. "Hey!" Peepers shouted out to the cadet who smashed into him. The cadet stopped and turned around.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you mean _'what'_?!" Peepers yelled as he picked himself up of the ground. He plopped his over-sized helmet back on his head, and stomped up to the other trainee. "You pushed me! That's _what!_"

"No, I didn't!" the other argued. "You just tripped on those stubby little legs of yours."

"How did you not feel your clumsy, stupid self slam into me?!" Peepers aggressively inquired.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the cadet said, with overtones of sarcasm in his voice. "It's just that you must be so microscopic that it was impossible for me to notice you!"

Peepers clenched his fists and growled in frustration. "Well… You're just jealous because _I _was Lord Hater's favorite at that meeting!"

The cadet didn't say a thing, he just gave Peepers a sour look. Peepers smirked and crossed his arms as they stood in silence. Peepers was sure he got him there. But suddenly, the other cadet snatched Peepers' helmet, and held it high above where the little cadet couldn't reach. "_Hey!_" Peepers screamed as he jumped up and down, trying to reach his stolen headwear.

"Oh, you want it? You want it?" the cadet taunted him, keeping the helmet far away its undersized owner.

"You're a jerk!" Peepers shrieked, just before punching the recruit in the chest.

The punch surprised the recruit, knocked him back a few inches too, but it was far from painful. Certainly didn't make him let go of the helmet. "Oh, nice hit, Peeps!" the cadet teased. "Y'know, for a _five-year-old_, I mean. Which is great for you, considering you _look _like a five-year-old!"

"Shut up!" Peepers screamed. "The only reason you're so angry is because you have the IQ of a five-year-old!" Not being able to think up any other good way to get his helmet back, Peepers suddenly whipped out the his standard-issue laser blaster. They all had been given one. Which was probably mistake.

The other cadet just stared blankly at Peepers, not seeming to be intimidated in the least by the gun shoved in his face. "Go ahead. Do it. _I dare you,_" the cadet taunted.

Peepers' eye narrowed, and his hand shook. He looked like he really wanted to fire it, he really did, but his finger just would not push on that trigger. This giving the other cadet ample time to snatch the blaster from little Peepers before throwing it into a bush, at least seven yards away. "HEY!" Peepers shouted.

The arguing and fighting had gotten so loud, it had attracted quite a decent-sized audience of other Watchdogs. The crowd around them is what finally made Sgt. Cornelius take notice. He called to one of his assistants, "Curtison!" he called to a soldier, pointing out the situation. "Deal with it."

Private Curtison sighed, and hurried over to the two quarreling cadets, who were still at it. "Okay! Okay!" he shouted. "Break it up, you two! And give him back his helmet already!"

"Then tell this tiny little twerp to stop lying!" the cadet said.

"But he knocked me over!" Peepers told Private Curtison.

"No, I didn't! You are such a liar!" the cadet yelled at Peepers.

"Girls! Girls! Please! You're _both _sexy!" Private Curtison yelled at them. "Look, I don't care who did what! I am _not _in the mood for dealing with this today, alright?! Now, you!" He pointed at the cadet who had taken Peepers' helmet hostage. "Give him back his helmet! And you!" He pointed to Peepers. "Stop whining so much!" Curtison turned to the Watchdogs that had crowded around. "You too!" The cadets hastily saluted the private, and continued running laps.

Peepers and the other cadet glared at each other for a moment. Curtison shot them both an impatient look. The cadet kicked a good amount of dirt into Peepers' eye just before slamming his helmet in his face, running off before he had a chance to get yelled at. Poor Peepers toppled over and landed on his back. "Oh, for the love of–" Curtison shouted. He grabbed Peepers by the arm, and pulled him up. Man, he _was _a tiny one, wasn't he? "You alright, cadet?" Curtison asked as he got down on his knees to get more on level with the little recruit.

"...Fine," Peepers mumbled, pulling his helmet over his face.

"Oh, really?" Curtison brushed the dirt and dust off the little cadet's uniform. Peepers nodded, insisting that he was perfectly fine, despite the fact that his eye was quickly welling up with tears. "Look, don't worry, cadet. They're just jealous because _you_ were Hater's favorite. That's what everyone's telling me at least."

Word moved fast around the ship, apparently. He was happy that he was being recognized as having Lord Hater's approval, but he didn't want that to be the _reason _for his public humiliation. "Who are you, anyway?" Peepers asked.

"Name's Private Curtie. What's yours?"

"Peepers, sir." He moved his helmet up to look at the soldier. "Wait, did you say 'private'? If you're a private, what are you doing out here?" Peepers asked.

"I have to help out with the new recruits sometimes. You know, for this exact reason."

"Well, thanks..." Peepers said. "But I didn't need your help!" His tone suddenly shifted to a much more confident one, he even puffed out his chest a little bit. "I would've gotten out of that myself given enough time!"

"Yeah. Sure, kid." Curtie rolled his eye. "But the enemy won't be so easy and give you all that _time_. Now, go fetch your blaster. You need to finish up your training for today. We've got an invasion tomorrow."

Peepers scampered over to the bush that his blaster was tossed into to retrieve it. He brushed it off and shoved it back in its holster. "So long as I have my blaster and my communicator, I'm sure I'll do _just _fine! I'll be the best soldier on the battlefield tomorrow!"

"Yeah, whatever, kid," Curtie said. "Just don't go getting yourself bludgeoned or eaten or something, okay? We lose more cadets that way."

"That's it, boys!" Sgt. Major Cornelius shouted at the trainees. "Take a rest! Next up is target practice." The cadets cheered at this news. After running ten laps, shooting at things sounded absolutely lovely. "Private Curtison!" he yelled.

"Sir?" Curtie sighed.

"You will be leading the platoon these cadets will be placed in tomorrow for the invasion!"

Curtie just wanted to punch something upon hearing that bit of information. He was dearly hoping he could hide in the ship and sit this one out. But if he didn't show up now, they would surely considering it AWOL. "Sir, yes, sir…" Curtie said, saluting the sergeant.

Between the uncooperative, incompetent trainees and the half-baked invasion plan Curtie was sure Lord Hater and the sarge had written up, tomorrow was going to be just _peachy._

* * *

Elements of this chapter were taken from or inspired by a fanfic by my friend, RinnySega. Private Curtie was created by her, too.


	4. The Attack

Chapter 4

The Attack

_BAM! _Lord Hater's ship came crashing down to a planet's surface! Right smack in the middle of a heavily populated area of the tiny planetoid. Many of the little inhabitants rushed inside their homes in the trees, and many rushed around in a panic, unaware of where they should go. The tongue of the ship rolled out of the mouth followed by hoards of Watchdogs pouring out of it. "Hate's great! Best villain! Hate's great! Best villain!" the soldiers chanted.

Sgt. Major Cornelius hopped out into view, and announced to the inhabitants, "This planet is now under the control of _Lord Hater!_" Upon that, the citizens of the planetoid all screamed in horror as the Watchdogs whipped out their laser rifles and began their conquering.

Inside the ship, Private Curtie brought his platoon of cadets together. "Ready everyone?" he asked them. "Ready to do our our leader's petty bidding?"

"_I am!_" Peepers gleefully shouted, raising his hand while hopping up and down. The others looked at him like he was crazy, which–given how excited he was to be oppressing an entire population–might have not been far from the truth.

"I'm sure you are…" Curtie replied. "Everyone else?" The rest of the cadets nodded, not looking quite as confident as their much younger comrade. "Alright then," Curtie sighed. "Let's get out there. Be sure to chant or we'll get yelled at."

"_HATE'S GREAT! BEST VILLAIN!_" Peepers ecstatically shouted at the top of his little lungs, drowning out the chanting of the rest of his team.

The platoon slid down the tongue together, and marched forth toward the town. "Alright, guys!" Curtie called back at his team. "Make sure none of the civilians who are trying to escape the town can leave!" The team saluted, and proceeded to hinder any escape the townspeople might attempt.

The town, unadvanced and defenseless as it was, was brought to its knees rather quickly. When the Watchdogs had everything under control, Lord Hater came on out of the ship, Sgt. Cornelius at his side. "Citizens of… whatever this place is called!" Lord Hater declared to the townspeople. "I do hope you _enjoyed_ the last day of your independence, because you are now under the rule of the most _feared villain in all the universe!_"

"Not to mention the most powerful and respected!" Peepers called out.

"Cadet!" Sgt. Cornelius shouted. "Pipe down!"

"Cornelius!" Lord Hater roared. "_Don't_ interrupt him when he's singing my praises! He's adding more than _you _ever did." Lord Hater gave a quick glance of approval to Peepers. It wasn't easy for Peepers to hold back his squeals of delight, but he managed.

"Private Curtison!" Cornelius hollered out. "Take your platoon around the borders of this village and make sure no outside intrusion come through!" Curtie gave a salute, and motioned for his platoon to follow him, as the rest of the soldiers proceeded with their conquering and pillaging of the town.

As they walked through the forest, heading for the town's border, Peepers couldn't help but to bring up what had just happened. "Can you _believe_ that Lord Hater liked what I said?" he squealed.

"Yeah…" one of the other cadets replied, rolling his eye. "Hard to imagine that he'd like getting showered with compliments like that…"

"And did you see that look he gave me?" Peepers asked. "I _cannot _believe I have Lord Hater's approval!"

"Everyone shut up for a minute!" Curtie ordered. "I think this is the border." They had reached the end of the woods, and had come out into a clear wide pathway near the edge of a steep hill. Curtie turned to his squad. "I want you all to split off in pairs and and patrol around the the edge of the forest. It doesn't look to me like there's any other life around here for _miles_, but it's what the Sgt. Major wanted, and glorn knows we need to listen to him and his fancy title or else we get screamed at some more. So, let's just all agree to humor him and not mention anything I just said, alright?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" they all said and saluted. The team began spitting up into pairs, just as Curtie had told them to. Peepers looked all around at the other members of his platoon, unfortunately not seeing any available to be teamed up with. It was then he noticed that Private Curtie didn't have partner.

"Private!" he called out to Curtie. "Mind if I patrol with you?"

Curtie sighed, but then shrugged. "Can't think of a reason why not," he replied. "Come on." They began to march around the pathway, opposite of one half of the squad.

"Did you see how Lord Hater approved of me?" Peepers excitedly asked the private.

"Yes, cadet," Curtie tiredly replied. "Everyone saw it."

"I think I might be his new favorite soldier! You think that I might be? I think I might be!"

"Well… Let's just say I've never seen someone _flatter _him as much as you do. You must _really _respect him, cadet."

"Oh, yes!" Peepers said with a smile. "I've been a fan of his and the Watchdogs' work for years now! You should've seen my room! Watchdog posters everywhere, drawings of lightning bolts and and skulls all over my stuff, I had a Watchdog hat, a little plastic Watchdog helmet, Watchdog hoodie, Watchdog _everything! _I'm so glad I could finally join up."

Man, what a little dork this kid was. Curtie did at least have to hand it to him; at least Peepers was _happy _about being where he was, unlike some of the others who were just _stuck_ with having to be in the army for one reason or another. "Well, good for you, cadet," Curtie said. "You followed your dreams, or whatever, and joined us. Lucky you, not everyone can achieve their goals like that, and yet here you are."

"What about you though?" Peepers asked. "Was your life goal to join the Watchdog troops, too?"

"Oh, well, uh…" Curtie trailed off a bit. "Not quite. I joined for _different _reasons. I was kind of in a bad spot back home and only enlisted because it was pretty much the only option I had left."

"And what a good option it was!" Peepers said. "But I can relate to the trouble back home thing. My family was a bunch of jerks."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah! Always yelling at me to come downstairs and spend all my valuable time with _them_. Telling me how I shouldn't join the Watchdogs 'til I was out of school and had a 'proper' education. They were just holding me back!"

"Oh, yeah… sounds terrible," Curtie said, extremely monotonously.

"Which is why I'm so glad I could finally get into the army! It's what _I _wanted to do, not what _they _wanted me to do. And while it hasn't been exactly the _easiest _so far, I'm still excited as anything to finally be here conquering planets and working towards our ultimate goal."

Quite a passionate little guy. It brought Curite a little joy to see that, even with all the cadet's had to put up so far, he was still genuinely happy to be there. Maybe if more soldiers were like that, being in Lord Hater's little military would be a bit more bearable.

Less than half an hour later, Curtie and Peepers heard at least four loud blood-curdling screams from what sounded like some of the patrolling soldiers. "What the…?" Curtie muttered. Very shortly afterwards, those four soldiers came sprinting down the path. "What?! What's going on?!" Curtie shouted at the cadets.

"_Run!_" one of them screamed as they passed the two soldiers.

"_Cobra Bear!_" another one yelled.

"Cobra Bear?!" Curtie and Peepers gasped. They looked back, and sure enough, a short distance away, a cobra bear came stomping up the path! It caught a glimpse of Curtie and Peepers, and stared at them. It then let out a shrieking roar. Curtie quickly grabbed Peepers' hand, and they were off like lightning in a millisecond. Peepers was practically being dragged by Curtie.

The main problem was, Cobra Bears were _huge _and the Watchdog soldiers were teeny tiny. One step for the cobra bear was at least fifteen steps for a Watchdog. Even if Watchdogs were quicker, outrunning this monstrosity was no easy feat. Thankfully, the adrenaline was helping.

That cobra bear was getting closer and closer, and luckily, all the soldiers doing a fine job of outrunning. Still, it was a bit too close for comfort. Curtie kept a very tight grip on Peepers' hand, a little too tight, as he pulled him along, trying to keep away from this beast. However, Peepers little legs couldn't quite keep up with the way Curtie was pulling on him. "Curtie!" Peepers shouted to the private. "Let go of me!"

"Are you _crazy?!_" Curtie screamed back at Peepers.

"No! Really!" Peepers shouted, as he stumbled, while still being dragged. "You're hurting me! Let go, or–" Before Peepers could even finish his sentence, the glove from the hand that Curtie was clutching slipped off, causing him to slip right out of Curtie's grip. Peepers tripped, tumbling over, and landed flat on the ground.

"Cadet!" Curtie cried as he came to a quick halt, and turned around.

Peepers scrambled to get back up on his feet, but couldn't quite manage, and kept tripping all over himself. He could feel the ground vibrating as the cobra bear came closer. Peepers was panicking, hyperventilating, trembling, he was _petrified_. He stared straight at the cobra bear, at a loss for what to do, and the cobra bear stared back to him.

"Cadet! Get out your blaster!" Curtie shouted to Peepers as he ran back towards him.

It took a moment for Peepers' brain to process what Curtie had yelled at him, but finally he came to his senses, whipped out his laser blaster, and hit the trigger! But _quite_ unfortunately, nothing happened. Peepers tried firing again and again, but the gun just refused to work. "Oh _grop_," Peepers said under his breath, his voice shaking.

The cobra bear leaned its head down, Peepers could feel it breathing on him. He closed his eye, waiting for the inevitable. Just then, Curtie darted right over and shielding the defenseless cadet. He pulled out his own blaster and shot that cobra bear right in its eye! The beast stumbled back, and screeched. Curtie then grabbed Peepers, and sped off like lightning, with Peepers in his arms.

When they were a good distance away, Curtie ducked into the forest to let Peepers down. "You okay, little guy?" Curtie asked, trying to catch his breath. Peepers said nothing, he was trying, but words just weren't coming. He ended up just sort of nodding. "Can you walk?" Curtie asked. Again, Peepers couldn't say anything, all he could seem to do was nod. "Okay, good, let's get you back to the ship, buddy."


End file.
